Take It or Leave It (film)
Encyclopedia
Take It or Leave It is a 1981 film
about the British
ska
/pop
band Madness
, directed by the owner of Madness label Stiff Records
, Dave Robinson, who also directed the band's music video
s. The film's budget was paid by the members of Madness, with £20 000 each (£140 000) and £250 000 by Stiff.
The genre of the film is between documentary
, drama
and comedy
. The film begins in Camden Town
, London
, on a grey day in January 1976. Three friends, Lee Thompson
, Chris Foreman
and Mike Barson
, start to play music together. Along the way their band suffers numerous arguments and changes in their line-up before finding success in the final scene, with a full piece Madness going out to a packed, screaming arena.
The soundtrack contains songs from the band's first two albums, One Step Beyond...
and Absolutely, in both studio recordings and live performances. The film is available on DVD.
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
about the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
/pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
, directed by the owner of Madness label Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
, Dave Robinson, who also directed the band's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s. The film's budget was paid by the members of Madness, with £20 000 each (£140 000) and £250 000 by Stiff.
The genre of the film is between documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
and comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
. The film begins in Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on a grey day in January 1976. Three friends, Lee Thompson
Lee Jay Thompson
Lee Jay Thompson , nicknamed Kix or El Thommo, is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist and songwriter of the second wave ska band, Madness....
, Chris Foreman
Chris Foreman
Chris Foreman , nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English guitarist, best known as a member of a second wave ska band, Madness.Foreman started Madness with Mike Barson and Lee Thompson in 1976...
and Mike Barson
Mike Barson
Michael "Mike" Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
, start to play music together. Along the way their band suffers numerous arguments and changes in their line-up before finding success in the final scene, with a full piece Madness going out to a packed, screaming arena.
The soundtrack contains songs from the band's first two albums, One Step Beyond...
One Step Beyond...
One Step Beyond... is the 1979 debut album by the British ska group Madness. It was ranked 90th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. The album peaked at number 2 and remained in the British record charts for over a year. One Step...
and Absolutely, in both studio recordings and live performances. The film is available on DVD.
Sources
- Mojo Special Limited Edition, The Ska Explosion!, "Padded Cells" by Johnny Black.
- Total Madness by George Marshall.